TUK a social companion robot

Abstract

With improvements in electronics and mechanics,robots have become more compact as well as more space and energy efficient. Hence, they are now a more integral part of our everyday lives. Thanks to Artificial Intelligence (AI) they are on the verge of entering our social lives too. Followingthis trend, Technische Universit ̈at Kiwi (TUK) is a family of social robots developed and under further development at the Institute of Computer Technology at TU Wien. The project deals with the design and creation of a companion robot. The main purpose of this work is to realize a relatable robot which can eventually serve in therapeutic applications, in particular for the children on the autism spectrum. To this end, the companion robot should be able to interact with the user and express emotions. The goal of the companion robot is to create a safe environment by serving as a safety blanket, in particular where other aids such as therapeutic pets cannot be used. Ultimately, we hope that by collecting helpful data, the companion robot can contribute to the therapy procedures as well as improvement of daily life interactions with family and friends. In this paper, we present Carl Friedrich, the first of TUK family.